The invention relates to a whirlpool or massage bathtub, comprising a tub part with a bottom which is provided with through-flow apertures for the supply of air to water in the whirlpool bathtub, and with devices for supplying air to the through-flow apertures.
The invention also relates to a valve device for a whirlpool bathtub, for supplying air to the whirlpool bathtub and draining water from the whirlpool bathtub.
Whirlpool or massage bathtubs are essentially based on two principles: hydromassage, where jets of water are ejected from the walls of the tub, and air systems, where the water in the tub is set in motion by air bubbles which are supplied from the bottom of the tub and possibly also the walls. Combinations of these two principles have also been employed.
Traditionally, whirlpool or massage bathtubs based on these principles have resulted in solutions where water or air is supplied from a pump device, through a system of hoses or pipes, to nozzles mounted in the bottom or the walls of the tub.
There are major disadvantages connected with such solutions. The most important objection is associated with cleaning. A system of hoses or pipes creates the basis for so-called biofilm, which results in the growth of algae, bacteria and fungi, and in such a system it is difficult to gain access for cleaning. Circulating water with added cleaning fluids can partially redress this problem, but a more thorough cleaning process requires access for mechanical washing with brushes or the like, which has been shown to be difficult or impossible to accomplish with the closed hose or pipe systems.
An important requirement for whirlpool or massage bathtubs is that they should be able to be manufactured from/with simple, cost-effective materials, components and methods. A tub based on extensive use of hoses and pipe connections does not fulfil this requirement.
A whirlpool or massage bathtub is known in the prior art where some of the above drawbacks are partially overcome. On the market there is a whirlpool or massage bathtub by the name of Hurricane (illustrated, e.g., in the product brochure xe2x80x9cthe only one which is washable . . . xe2x80x9d from Fjordbad AS, dated 1, Feb. 1998). This bathtub is a whirlpool bath where air is supplied from a pump device to nozzles mounted in the bottom of the tub. However, the pump device is not connected to the nozzles by means of hoses or pipes. Instead, the tub is equipped with a removable, upper bottom element in the form of a plate, matching the shape immediately above the bottom of the bathtub, where the nozzles are composed of apertures in the upper bottom element. Together with the bottom of the actual tub, the upper bottom element forms a defined chamber to which air is supplied from the pump device. During operation the chamber is placed under higher air pressure than atmospheric pressure, and the air is distributed to the individual nozzles, where it flows out, producing a whirlpool and massaging effect in the water in the tub, on the top of the removable bottom element.
This solution offers the possibility of more efficient cleaning. The upper bottom element can be removed from the tub by means of four screws, whereupon those parts of the tub and the bottom element which together form the interior of the chamber can be efficiently cleaned by simple means and with easy access.
This known solution overcomes many of the said disadvantages associated with cleaning, but it has also been shown to involve new problems.
One significant problem is the technical difficulties connected with producing a removable bottom element which will exactly match the shape of the bathtub, and which will provide a tight seal with the lower part of the tub""s walls while the chamber under the bottom element is placed under air pressure from the pump device. This problem can be solved by means of gaskets, but this solution should be avoided, since it can create new problems with the growth of bacteria and the like in connection with the gaskets. The manufacture of a hard, upper bottom element which provides a tight seal without the use of gaskets has been shown to require complicated and costly production processes, which depend, amongst other things, on the extensive use of manual craftmanship.
Another problem with the known solution is that the removable, upper bottom element is heavy and relatively difficult for the user to release and lift out. The known, upper bottom element has a weight of 13 kg, and 4 screws have to be loosened, whereupon it has to be lifted out by means of a special tool in the form of a lifting ring. This cumbersome process has in many cases led to a tendency for the tub not to be cleaned as often and as thoroughly as was intended.
A further drawback with the known solution is that the bottom element will require a fixed, predetermined distribution of air aperture over the surface of the bottom element. This offers no opportunity for a user to select and very the areas which will be provided with air apertures, and which areas will not.
The known solution also makes it difficult and expensive to replace the bottom element with another, if it is desirable to alter certain characteristics such as the number, size and distribution of air apertures for the bottom element.
EP-A-0 450 396 discloses a device for use with a bathtub, where a mixture of air and water is supplied to the water in the bathtub by means of an external pump. The bathtub bottom is provided with a recess, delimited at the top by a cover, constituting a chamber which is further divided into sections for feeding air/water mixture and for return of water, respectively. The cover is detachable by means of clips. Apparently, the publication does not address the problem of simultaneously providing satisfactorily sealing, effective and convenient cleaning, simple manufacturing and preventing the growth of bacteria etc.
GB-A-2 217 986 discloses a drainage valve for a whirlpool tub, arranged for simultaneously draining of the bathtub and assocoated pipework. The publication does not address the problem of providing a valve for both supplying air into the bathtub and draining water from the bathtub. Particularly, the publication does not disclose a special valve geometry which provides for short tubing lengths, thereby facilitating easy access and convenient cleaning.
The object of the present invention is to provide a whirlpool bathtub and a valve device as mentioned in the introduction, which is not encumbered by the above disadvantages.
The object is achieved with a whirlpool bathtub comprising a tub part with a bottom which is provided with through-flow apertures for supplying air to water in the whirlpool bathtub, and devices for supplying air to through-flow apertures, characterized in that the bottom is provided with at least one recess which is flow-relatedly connected with the devices for supply of air, that each recess is surrounded by a substantially horizontal sealing edge, that each recess is covered by a bottom element which abuts sealingly against the recess""s sealing edge, with the result that the recess and the bottom element together form a distributing chamber for air, and that the bottom elements are provided with through-flow apertures for air from the supply chambers to water in the whirlpool bathtub.
It is also achieved with a valve device for a whirlpool bathtub, for supplying air to the whirlpool bathtub and drawing water from the whirlpool bathtub, characterized in that it comprises a valve housing, at least two horizontal outlets for air, a substantially vertical inlet for water and a substantially vertical outlet for water, the outlets for air are provided in a plane between the inlet for water and the outlet for water, and it comprises a valve for closing the outlet for water, comprising a substantially horizontal valve seat in the housing and a vertically movable closing body which by means of a lifting device is movable between an open position where water is permitted to flow through the valve device and a closed position where an outlet closing portion of the closing body abuts against the valve seat, closing the outlet for water.